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from the did-you-expect-something-different dept.
Next month, the electric car company's CEO revealed on Twitter, that a software update for Tesla's autopilot software will make the control algorithm "as smooth as silk."
The software update will be pushed out to all second-generation Teslas, known as HW2. These cars currently have fewer features than the first-generation cars, but are gradually catching up and have more sensors and computing power, so promise to be better in the long term.
In March the Autosteer speed limit for HW2 Teslas increased to 80 mph, and in May to 90 mph, which left the cars feeling "safe, but unpleasant" to drive, according to Musk. The new control algorithm, set to be rolled out next month, "is even safer, but super smooth."
[ n1: During this Twitter foray Musk also responded to a request for a Model 3 update; he said there will be no updates until deliveries begin in July. Earlier in the month Musk stated that the company is taking an "anti-selling" strategy on the Model 3 with no advertising or test-drives for the first six to nine months of production. This is apparently in part due to "confusion" that some people had, thinking the Model 3 is a replacement to the Model S. ]
(Score: 5, Insightful) by vux984 on Wednesday May 24 2017, @02:47AM (4 children)
Yes. So what? It is a step, but until it actually gets there, its no good.
Its like complicated biometric electronic safeties on guns: its a great idea but until its virtually foolproof its worse than not having them at all. Only a fool would use one in the state they are in right now; and there's a good reason the police and military want no part of them.
That is the state of 'automated driving' right now; its worse than not having it.
Perhaps. But if you think my reaction speeds aren't good enough now when I'm actively and continually engaged in driving, then how good do you think they'll be after 2 hours of not having had to even touch the steering wheel thanks to automated driving? It's going to be worse. Google's published studies on it. Its a LOT worse.
Meanwhile, I'm still legally and ethically responsible whenever a bad thing happens. This is simply not a tenable situation.
Call me when it gets here. Right now, i want nothing to do with it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 24 2017, @03:17AM
Remind me again: what good is half a wing [berkeley.edu]?
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 24 2017, @03:48AM (2 children)
The crash rate under autopilot, just among Tesla users, is already substantially lower than the crash rate for 'manual driving' among the same userbase. There's definitely going to be some confounding variables there, but if anything I think they would result in understating how major an accomplishment that is. For instance like you mention, users become even less aware than usual after not being an active participant in driving.
I think some people might not realize how rapidly this technology is evolving. The goal is to have a Tesla able to drive itself, completely autonomously, from LA to New York by the end of this year. The goal was previously 2018 but is apparently accelerating ahead of schedule. By the time this is possible, autonomous mode will certainly be safer than manually driving - if it isn't already.
(Score: 1, Flamebait) by edIII on Wednesday May 24 2017, @07:35PM
Say whatever the fuck you want, but I'm never getting in the fuckers. Elon Musk is just like the rest, only cares about profit, fuck the users, fuck the people, where's my fucking money!? No. I don't trust people anymore. You can't trust science either with the data or reproducibility. You can't trust regulators not to fudge the numbers either. You can't trust that there will even be regulations anymore in the future either, which means you have no way to trust corporations at all. That is because you only trust a corporation as far as you can actually cause it pain and consequences, and that is coming to an end.
This isn't even a full AI solution like WayMo, and Tesla has already killed "Guinea Pigs" that ponied up a lot of money to die in style. They die, Elon is fucking Amber Heard each night. Yeah, seems fair. Which brings up one that could make me feel better, and that is that anti-Union fuck being driven by AI all day long, every single day, every single time. At least he can share the risks of his tech along with the rest of us. I doubt it.
Add some mass surveillance to it and all the information and power asymmetry that goes along with it, and you really want to get into automated vehicles listening to masters in remote places? It's not like the vehicles have their own form of Hippocratic Oath combined with the Three Laws. Just a bunch of machine learning, IP needing ROI, and the masters? SHAREHOLDERS. Not nearly enough people ask the question, "Who is my technology serving?"
Driving isn't perfect right now, but it is a FUCKTON more free (as in freedom) than any alternatives that Tesla and Google can come up with. Or Uber can steal.
I need these things to get into a self-driving car:
1) No blobs/binaries in hardware and all of the software is FOSS. No proprietary anything.
2) No external processing like Siri. EVERYTHING must be processed locally. The Cloud is not welcome.
3) An enforced standard for open communication between moving objects. Includes cars, trucks, planes, drones, and fuck it, even trains.
4) A NSA that actually works for the people helping to vet all of the code and deliver critical bug reports in a responsible fashion.
5) Sans #4, a public organization, well funded, that accomplished the same.
Otherwise, the rest of you are fucking insane to get into these things ;P At the very least give it another 5 years and let the early adopter bastards die in your places.
Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
(Score: 2) by vux984 on Saturday June 03 2017, @02:17AM
Cite?